SANCOCHO To Have Off-Broadway Premiere This Spring at WP Theater

Producers Latinx Playwrights Circle, WP Theater, and The Sol Project will present the Off-Broadway Premiere of Sancocho, a new play by Christin Eve Cato (The Good Cop, DUAF 2022) directed by Rebecca Martinez (Miss You Like Hell; Theatre for One: Here We Are). The limited engagement will run from March 11 - April 9, 2023, at WP Theater (2162 Broadway). Opening Night is set for Thursday, March 23.

Simmering between two Puerto Rican sisters is a family tension that finally comes to a boil. Forced to confront the reality of their father's rapidly declining health, Renata and Caridad clash over cultural divides, unearth old wounds, and reveal long-buried secrets. As Caridad's sancocho bubbles on the stove, will the two sisters reconcile their past resentments to face their uncertain futures - together? A searing Off-Broadway Premiere play by Christin Eve Cato.

Sancocho was produced by Vision Latino Theatre Company in October 2022, as part of Destinos, the fifth annual Chicago International Latino Theater Festival. The Chicago Tribune hailed the production as "inspirational" and "a multi-sensory experience...two strong [sisters] have the hard conversations, face down their generational trauma and find a path forward toward healing. The stew that they prepare throughout the evening serves as a metaphor for this process, as ingredients are sliced and crushed to create a meal 'healing to the soul.'" The Chicago Reader described the show as "rich family fare. Named for a type of beef stew, Sancocho highlights the significance of familia for the best or otherwise. The dialogue melds between English and Spanish sweetly as the sancocho literally simmers on the stove. The scent made me long to return to Puerto Rico to devour más mofongo y tostones." Originally developed at Latinx Playwrights Circle's developmental programs, the play has also been selected as a featured play on #NewPlayExchange and developed at Ingenio Festival & Playwrights Center Core Apprentice Workshop.

Tickets are now available at www.wptheater.org. The ticket range is $29-$79 during previews, and $39-$89 after opening night. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm. The performances on Saturday, March 11 and Sunday, March 12 are at 7pm.

@WPtheater

BIOGRAPHIES:

Christin Eve Cato

(Playwright) is a playwright and performing artist from the Bronx. She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Indiana University and completed her BA in Political Science and Philosophy at Fordham University. Cato is also a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts. She is affiliated with NYC theater companies, Pregones/PRTT (ensemble member & former Resident Dramaturg), INTAR Theatre (UNIT 52 ensemble member), and the Latinx Playwrights Circle. Cato's artistic style is expressed through Caribbean culture and the Afro-Latinx diaspora, honoring her Puerto Rican and Jamaican roots. Recent Off-Broadway productions include The Good Cop (DUAF 2022) . Recent productions include, Sancocho (Vision Latino Theatre Company/ Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival); American Made (Samuel French OOB Festival/ NYC); and an audio play journey, The Mayor of Hell's Kitchen Presents: A Time Traveling Journey Through NYC's Wild West (The Parsnip Ship & Playwrights Horizons/ NYC).

Rebecca Martinez

(Director) Rebecca Martinez (she/her) is an award-winning director and choreographer and the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at WP Theater. Upcoming projects include: Living and Breathing (Two River), a musical adaptation of The Comedy of Errors (The Public Theater's Mobile Unit). Recent projects: Los Complicados (EST Marathon), Randy's Dandy Coaster Castle (Egg & Spoon Collective), Songs About Trains (Working Theater and Radical Evolution), Somewhere Over the Border (Syracuse Stage and Geva Theatre). Rebecca has developed new work with The Public Theater, Amas Musical Theater, the O'Neill, Latinx Playwrights Circle, the Sol Project, NAMT, INTAR, Working Theater, The Playwrights Realm, among others. Affiliations: Sojourn Theatre Ensemble, 2021 TCG Rising Leaders of Color; Sol Project Collective, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, INTAR's Unit52, New Georges Affiliated Artist, WP Lab, Drama League Directing Fellow, member of SDC. Awards: Colorado Henry Award for Directing; four Portland, Oregon Drammy Awards; Lilla Jewel Award for Women Artists. Rebecca is originally from Colorado with deep ancestral roots in the Southwest. rebeccamartinez.org

LATINX PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE

(LPC) is an artist-led development and production organization for Latinx(é) playwrights. Founded in 2017 by playwrights Guadalís Del Carmen and Oscar Cabrera with the mission to build a network of Latinx(é) playwrights nationwide in order to promote, develop and elevate their work while making their plays accessible to theater makers looking to find the next generation of American Storytellers. Its programs include Sunday Service, Fresh Draft Series, Greater Good Commision and Festival, Intensive Mentorship Program, LPC Community Nights and Page-to-Stage, whose inaugural production is Sancocho by Christin Eve Cato. In 2020 LPC received a residency at Kabayitos Theater, located in the Clemente Soto Velez Center where it produces a portion of their programming. In 2022 LPC was awarded a Creatives Rebuild New York Grant (CRNY) as well as the HOLA Award for Excellence in Theater. For more information on Latinx Playwright Circle and its many programs please visit http://www.latinxplaywrights.com LPC embraces the ever evolving landscape of Latinidad and the names used to describe this community, including Latiné, Latinx, Hispanic, and the next generation of names to come. Like language itself, this is an ever evolving name.

THE SOL PROJECT

is a national theater initiative dedicated to amplifying the voices of Latiné playwrights by supporting, nurturing, and advocating for fully realized productions in NYC and beyond. Founded by Jacob G. Padrón and driven by an artistic collective, The Sol Project works in partnership with leading theaters to center Latiné dramatists and nurture a growing community of Latiné theater artists. With the writers we champion, The Sol Project aspires to create a bold, timeless, and kaleidoscopic body of work for the new American theater.

The Sol Project launched in 2016 with the world premiere of Alligator by Hilary Bettis in collaboration with New Georges, followed by the New York premieres of Seven Spots on the Sun by Martín Zimmerman (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater) and Oedipus El Rey by Luis Alfaro (The Public Theater). In the fall of 2018, The Sol Project collaborated with Yale Repertory Theatre to produce the world premiere of El Huracán by Charise Castro Smith and in early 2020 partnered with Baltimore Center Stage and The Playwrights Realm to produce the world premiere of Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally by Noah Diaz. In 2022, The Sol Project partnered with Soho Rep for the world premiere of Notes on Killing Seven Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Board Members by Mara Vélez Meléndez. And in spring of 2023, The Sol Project will collaborate with MCC Theater for the world premiere of Bees and Honey by Guadalís Del Carmen, as well as WP Theater and Latinx Playwrights Circle for the Off-Broadway premiere of Sancocho by Christin Eve Cato. In addition to productions, The Sol Project advances its mission by producing a yearly new play festival, SolFest, in partnership with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, while also supporting the Latiné theatre community through readings, workshops, a podcast (SolTalk), and ongoing symposia.

The artistic collective includes Adriana Gaviria, Rebecca Martínez, David Mendizábal, Jacob G. Padrón , Julian Ramirez, and Laurie Woolery. Isabel Pask is the Producing Associate. Brian Herrera is the Resident Scholar. Stephanie Ybarra is the Resident Dramaturg. Our partners include Atlantic Theatre Company, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Center Theatre Group, LAByrinth Theater Company, Latinx Playwrights Circle, Magic Theatre, MCC Theater, New Georges, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, The Playwrights Realm, The Public Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Soho Rep, WP Theater, and Yale Repertory Theatre. For more information, visit www.solproject.org.

WP THEATER

(Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Sag, Managing Director), now in its 45th Season, is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their careers. For over four decades, WP has served as leaders of a global movement towards gender parity - and the artists fostered have grown into a robust, thriving community in theater and beyond. WP empowers Women+ artists of all kinds to reach their full potential, challenging preconceptions about the kinds of plays they write and the stories they tell.

Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles, WP Theater has earned acclaim as a home for Women+ theatermakers, historically marginalized in the field, to hone their craft while becoming leaders, change-makers, and advocates in the industry. To date, the company has produced more than 700 Mainstage productions and developmental projects and published 11 anthologies of plays by Women+ artists, and continues to forge forward in making a difference in the artistic landscape of New York and beyond, by offering these artists a platform to develop and present their stories.

Today, WP accomplishes its mission through several fundamental programs, including: the WP Lab, a celebrated two-year mentorship and new play development program for Women+ playwrights, directors, and producers; the Space Program, providing inexpensive performance space to mission aligned small theater companies and individual artists; the Developmental series of workshops and readings; the Commissioning program, and the Mainstage series, which features a full season of Off-Broadway productions written and directed by extraordinary Women+ theater artists. Current artists under commission are: Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Emily Kaczmarek, MJ Kaufman, Sylvia Khoury, Zoe Sarnak, and Leah Nanako Winkler.

WP Theater received a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award and an 2019 Obie Award, both for Outstanding Body of Work; and a 2020 Special Drama Desk Award recognizing WP and its founder, Julia Miles. As the premier launching pad for some of the most influential artists in theater, television, and film, WP's work has a significant impact on the field. Nearly every notable female theater artist has been through its doors, including: 2019 Tony Winner Rachel Chavkin; two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner Lynn Nottage, 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner Martyna Majok; MacArthur "Genius" Grant Winner & Tony Award Nominee Dominique Morisseau; Tony Winner Pam MacKinnon; and Tony Winner Diane Paulus. At WP, these powerful women found an early artistic home and are a testament to the organization's role as a driving cultural force.

*When we say Women+, we mean people who are cis women, trans, non-binary, or gender nonconforming people, and all gender identities which have been systematically oppressed throughout history in the theater and beyond.

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